FJ40 Dies while turning left... (1 Viewer)

[kurtnkegger]

That's right...just like the thread title says...

Randomly my 40 will shut down in a left hand turn. It's like I turned the key off. No stumble, no choking, just dies. Sometimes, I can turn the steering wheel straight, mash down on the gas and get her to start up again, but usually have to pull over crank, and crank because it floods out. Plume of black smoke, raw gas smell...

Yesterday, I was driving, and happened quite a bit, so thought I would post up and see if anyone had insight where to look. I think electrical...I can jiggle the key and she still runs, so not quite sure it's the ignition switch. Wires appear to be in good shape, and not grounding out on anything. There is a random red wire with a black stripe hanging but appears to be for the "dome light" if there ever was one. Grounds have been moved to a more solid connection, to the clutch slave mount, and to the tub from the frame. Ground also cleaned and reseated from the battery to the frame

If I'm sitting still, and turn the steering wheel left, and right it runs fine.

Anyway, hoping I can get some direction from some of you all.

Thanks

 

[NOSAJ]

I would definitely look at the ignition switch. Maybe start and drive it with the plastic around the ignition switch removed and with the switch hanging out. I would try that and see if it still does it. Just make sure you have a way to turn it off quick if you need to.

 

[Nomis]

Is it desmogged by chance? My '76 has done this occasionally in the past and I believe the elbow on the spacer below the carb (which is capped off if desmogged) fills with fuel over time and then when a left turn is made it dumps the fuel into the manifold and floods the engine temporarily. One could seal the port inside the carb spacer with JB weld, etc. To verify if this is causing your issue, drive for a bit then go to a parking lot and make a hard left turn, after which the engine will flood/stall and you have to restart. At this point the fuel will have drained out of the elbow and once you restart it, you should be able to make another hard left and not have it die. Let us know what you find.

 

[shawnfj40]

Well without more info my first thought is it is probably electrical. you have a wire somewhere in the ignition system that is either contacting ground or going open when it shouldn't. I would just start your rig and start moving wires around until the engine dies. If a turn is all it takes to kill it, you should be able to find it fairly quickly.

 

[kurtnkegger]

I'm thinking electrical too. All smog related parts are in place, and in working order. I'm going to snoop around the coil area and look for some loose connections there. I've already looked at the wire loom from the steering wheel and under the dash, that looked alright...

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

look for places the harness could be in contact with steering/susp. components as they're moving thru their archs during turning. check motor mounts aren't broken and spreading while turning, pulling on the harness. I had a dizzy go bad inside and it was very much like what you are describing. that was a 77 model year dizzy...it would just decide to shut off from time to time...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Kinda far out, but check the connections to your fusible link and your fusible link itself.

Could be, while turning left, while moving, enough tension is generated to stretch a faulty connection/link just enough to cause a momentary disconnect.

 

[kurtnkegger]

I've cleaned ground areas, and all connectors around the coil, ignitor, and ballast resistor. I also emery clothed the interior of the distributor cap to make sure the spark could go. The high tension wire seemed to come out of the coil pretty easily, so I opened up the connector, and reinstalled. I've driven it a couple of days without incident.

Since this is an intermittent problem, I'll have to keep cruising to determine if the problem is resolved...

 

[sggoat]

I do like Nomis's post--it seems to fit your symptoms, and is easy to check.

 

[Steamer]

To aid in the diagnosis I would take note of other factors when it dies. Is there any difference between gentle left turns vs harsh left turns? Accelerating turns vs decelerating turns? Try driving in one continuous circle in and open area and gradually build up speed. Does seem to happen when the centrifugal force hits a certain amount or does it happen just because the steering wheel is turned left whether going fast or slow? You could also hook a temporary pilot light to the + side of the coil so you can see and monitor it. If it goes out when it dies, it’s most likely electrical. If it stays on when it dies, it’s more likely fuel related.

 

[Steamer]

I would also check that the fuel level in the carb stays close to the center of the window.

 

[65swb45]

You never said whether you were/are working with a stock carb.

 

[DTSkyCop]

OR, when the car dies, does everything die at the same time... Radio etc...? OR, does the radio remain on and the engine just quits..?

 

[kurtnkegger]

Stock carb. Float re-adjusted to make sure the bowl is not overflowing. Just the engine dies, like I turned off the key...but everything else stays on like it's supposed to. No port to seal, all smog components are installed, and working as they should.

I'm starting to think that it's my coil that is starting to die. I put a flamethrower (from Mark's) on about 4 or 5 years ago, but after symptoms, and testing, just thinking perhaps it's the coil again.

 

[kurtnkegger]

So, after installing a new FlameThrower coil...still nothing...no spark...Started looking at the pertronix ignitor, and tested there was nochange in ohms when the magnetic ring was supposed to flash the ignitor. The pertronix is dead. I went back to the stock set-up with points in the distributor to send signal to the ignitor over the coil. Set the points gap, and she fired up! Drove her around to get her warm, then reset the timing after the ignition change.

Maybe the engine cutting off may have been from the pertronix failing? I'll have to keep driving and see...it's running nice right now...

 

[kurtnkegger]

A quick conclusion to this thread...The issue with the engine dying continued even after the points switch-back...

I did some more investigating and read that a faulty voltage regulator could do some pretty wonky things to a running engine...Last year I put a solid state voltage regulator in place of the original regulator.

Lo and behold....the engine is running great without problems on turns. Ran all summer, and has not died at all. Thought I would wrap up the thread, as I hate reading about problems and then left hanging on whether there was a solution. A new voltage regulator was my solution.